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Dem Rep: We 'Absolutely' Need a Different Strategy Going Into 2018 Midterms

June 30, 2017

Rep. Raul Ruiz (D., Calif) told CNN's Poppy Harlow on Friday that the Democratic Party "absolutely" needs a different strategy going into the 2018 midterm elections.

Harlow asked Ruiz about the Democrats losing four special congressional elections this year, referencing Sen. Bernie Sanders (I., Vt.) saying earlier in the month that President Donald Trump did not win the 2016 election but Democrats lost it. She went on to ask Ruiz whether the Democratic Party needs a new strategy going into the 2018 midterms.

"Absolutely," Ruiz said. "I think we need a revival. We need to really understand and listen to the American people. We need to have connection. When I ran, I told the local Democrats that I am not running for the Democratic Party. I am not even running against the Republican Party. I'm running for the people in my district, and that's what we need to come back to, to the essence of who we are."

"In this debate with health care, there are Republican patients, there are Democratic patients. There are Republican and Democratic seniors who are going to lose their potential nursing home care, and that's what we need to fight for," Ruiz added.

Ruiz is not the first Democrat to publicly admit that the Democrats need a new strategy to take back the House and Senate in 2018. After Democrat Jon Ossoff lost Georgia's special congressional race, several Democrats questioned House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi's (D., Calif.) leadership and their chances going into 2018.

"Our brand is worse than Trump," Rep. Tim Ryan (D., Ohio) said, urging Democrats to make a clear economic message an urgent priority. "We can't just run against Trump."

Ryan has been openly critical of the Democratic Party's strategic direction since November, trying to unseat Pelosi as the top House Democrat in order to implement a new strategy.

"There comes a time when every leader has to say, 'For the good of the order and for the betterment of the party, it's time for me to step aside.' And I wish that that would happen right now. This is not a personal thing. I want to get back in the majority," Rep. Kathleen Rice (D., N.Y.) said in an interview.

"I think you'd have to be an idiot to think we could win the House with Pelosi at the top," Rep. Filemon Vela (D., Texas) said.